Family of murdered mom honours her memory with kite flying

SINCE childhood, Sarah Joseph enjoyed going out with her family to the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain on Easter Sunday to take part in the annual kite-flying competition. And yesterday, relatives sought to honour her memory by creating a 15-foot-long mad bull kite, bearing her image. Joseph’s body was found along Mon Plaisir Road, Cunupia in January.

Newsday visited the savannah yesterday and spoke with her relatives just as they were putting the finishing touches on the kite aptly called, “Sarah.” Joseph’s mother, Dianne Dallip said while she is still pained by her 27-year-old daughter’s murder, she was happy they could keep her memory alive by doing something she loved together as a family and said she was impressed with her grandson, Renaldo Joseph, who was very helpful in making the kite.

“It’s very sad knowing we can’t bring her back, but we are happy to be here right now and I know she is here with us in spirit. She would be very proud to see her son Renaldo help making the kite, so we try to enjoy ourselves and have a good time today for her.” Renaldo, who turned 12 on Saturday, said while he was still deeply saddened by his mother’s death, he was happy he could pay tribute to her by doing something she enjoyed doing. He said the tournament was a special occasion for him as he felt his mother’s presence and was touched by his family’s support.

Despite a comparatively low turnout to previous years, yesterday’s tournament was well-attended by almost three dozen participants who showcased their creativity and kite-flying skill for judges with the hopes of being one of three finalists. Longtime contestant and veteran kite maker Suresh Mantony said while he was happy the artform has persisted as long as it has, he wants the competition’s organisers to seek to introduce more categories to attract fresh faces.

“We’ve seen larger crowds in years gone by, and it’s sad what we are seeing today because there are a lot of creative people out there who can make some really nice kites. We just need to introduce a new category for them where they can be judged for the creativity aspect of it and we will see more people coming out,” Mantony said.